With the scheduled date of the 2022 Pepsi North America Cup less than two months away, Trot Insider will profile some of the race's top contenders as horses ready to compete for one of Canadian harness racing's biggest prizes.
Beach Glass continues the countdown, coming in at #4 in TROT Magazine's 2022 Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book assessed odds of 8-1.
A son of Somebeachsomewhere - Im With Her, Beach Glass might not have the accomplished resume of his rivals but the electrifying start to his career raised eyebrows across the continent. Campaigned by the same connections as his late legendary sire, Beach Glass took a mark of 1:51.1s at Woodbine Mohawk Park for driver Paul MacDonell, trainer Brent MacGrath and owners Schooner II Stable of Truro, N.S. The colt made just five starts but sports a summary of 3-1-0 from that handful of appearances.
Trainer and co-owner Brent MacGrath provided an update on the highly-regarded sophomore colt that the horseman feels is genetically primed to peak this season.
"When you look back at the family, you look at Hattie and the millionaires she produced and the mares she produced...none of them had the ability that he had as a two-year-old. So, you know, when you look at all of that, you look at the fact that we've never had a bandage on him and now that we have him healthy, the sky's the limit. I'm extremely excited and optimistic."
Where did he winter and when did you start back with him?
"After the Breeders Crown he went to Walnut Hall [in Kentucky]. I met up with him in Florida at Sunshine Meadows on the last day of December, and started training him at Sunshine Meadows."
Have you noticed any changes from last year to this year?
"Big changes. As you know, he had some issues last year. He had some sickness and, you know, he didn't develop as quickly as we thought that he would but he's really blossomed this year. He's put on a lot of weight. He's put on a lot of muscle, he's tall...he was a tall horse anyway, but he's really filled out. He's quite a bit heavier and a stronger horse than he was last year for sure.
"His testosterone has kicked in a little bit more and he's a little bit more aggressive to handle. He's stronger for sure. You know, I'm pushing 64 years old and I'm probably not as quick as I once was so he can be a handful sometimes, but he's got a great attitude and good manners. He's just full of himself."
What will his tentative early schedule look like leading up to the Pepsi North America Cup?
"Rhonda and I landed here [Ontario] last Saturday. He's had a good week here, feeling good. I haven't done much with him. I mean it's quite a shock to his system, the weather. So we're just jogging him a little bit, giving him an easy week...The plan is to take him to Mohawk a week from Saturday and throw a good tightener into him, and then I would think we would qualify the next Friday.
"I would say he's a non-winner of two; he's got three races, but you get 50 percent...I'll qualify him a couple of times and then race or qualify once and get a couple of races. We're going to do something before the Somebeachsomewhere; he's definitely going to have a race or a couple of good qualifiers."
What does his tentative schedule look like after the North America Cup?
"Meadowlands Pace, Adios, Cane. That's my plan, and then we might go home for 10 days and go back to the one at Pocono, the Hempt. Then back to Mohawk for the Simcoe, and of course Lexington and the Breeders Crown then the two in Dover in November. If everything goes well."
What's his biggest asset / strength?
"His attitude and his gait."
At what point last year did you think this horse was North America Cup material?
"I liked him when I was training him down, and I liked him qualifying but we went to Mohawk with him, he was really, really green. And you know, for him to come off of Truro with a mile in 2:01 and win his first start in 1:54 like he did, as easy as he did, and and then turn around and do what he continued to do for his next two starts — basically on cruise control — I was very happy.
"I was impressed with him in his first lifetime start at Mohawk and I thought we had a Grand Circuit horse. And I still do."
As someone who's won this race before, how does it feel to have another legit shot at the North America Cup and, to boot, have that contender so closely connected to Somebeachsomewhere?
"Well, first of all, having connections to Beach is everything. Everything. And for him being if not the last one, one of them, you know that's exciting too. And to have a contender, to be on this phone call with the little stable that we have...and you look at the horses the bigger stables buy every year that don't get here. It's very exciting and humbling."
Previous Profiles:
#5 - Early Action (9-1)
#6 - Gulf Shores (10-1)
#7 - Hammering Hank (12-1)
#8 - Betterhavemymoney (18-1)
#9 - Bob Loblaw (20-1)
#10 - Magical Arthur (22-1)